To protect moose, birds, fish and humans here in New England, it’s clear that Canada’s tar sands need to stay in the ground, and Vermont is playing a leading role in that fight.

New England’s moose are threatened by climate change, which will be exacerbated by massive expansion of Canada’s tar sands industry. Photo by David Govatski, U.S. FWS.

Gov. Shumlin takes the first step for New England

As of today, New England, unlike many parts of the United States, can still say we are “tar sands free,” as only a negligible amount of tar sands fuel makes its way into the region. But the sobering reality is that because of the way pipelines and rail cars crisscross our country, by 2020 as much as 18 percent of the fuel we put in our gas tanks could be derived from climate polluting tar sands, especially if major projects like the Keystone XL pipeline are approved. Such an inundation would cause enough additional carbon pollution to erase the gains from the landmark and successful Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a regional program to cap carbon pollution.

We’re proud that Gov. Peter Shumlin has taken the all-important first step toward making sure the Northeast doesn’t get pulled backward by the dirtiest fuels, by directing his administration to do a few things here in Vermont that will “lead to a better understanding of the total emissions of fossil fuels, with the ultimate goal of curtailing them.” The Shumlin Administration will:

Investigate the feasibility of developing a Vermont carbon intensity tracking system for fossil fuels we import (contrary to industry complaints, this can be done and is already being done in California).

Reach out to other states to lay the groundwork for this tracking regionally.

Support other ongoing efforts to track the carbon intensity of our region’s fuel.

These are very basic first steps which are vital to moving forward and bringing the rest of the region along with us. The tar sands industry’s plans for massive expansion come at great cost to wildlife, and the United States must use every tool possible to keep the dirty fuel in the ground. Tracking our fuel with the ultimate goal of keeping tar sands out of the mix is an important way to do so.

This commitment shows that Vermont and Gov. Shumlin are not only ready to protect the Northeast Kingdom’s environment and economy, but Vermont is ready to lead the nation forward in the fight against climate change.

Protect Moose from Tar Sands

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2014/06/vermont-leads-new-england-on-path-to-cleaner-fuel-mix/feed/1Climate Capsule: The Last Hurrahhttp://blog.nwf.org/2011/09/climate-capsule-the-last-hurrah/
http://blog.nwf.org/2011/09/climate-capsule-the-last-hurrah/#commentsTue, 06 Sep 2011 19:38:16 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/?p=30799Today will be this climate correspondent’s final installment. The future of the Capsule will remain to be seen, but in the meantime you can get plenty of Climate news from NWF’s Media Center and the Wildlife Promise Global Warming Feed.

Highlight of the Week

The Ghost of Capsules Past

Quote:

via Origamidon/Flickr

“I find it extraordinary that so many political leaders won’t actually talk about the relationship between climate change, fossil fuels, our continuing irrational exuberance about burning fossil fuels, in light of these storm patterns that we’ve been experiencing.”

Economic Story of the Week

Insurers Slow on the Climate Uptake

via USGS/Flickr

A recently released report from Ceres analyzed 88 leading U.S. insurers’ policies for dealing with the potential growing risks associated with climate change. The surprising finding is that only 11 of these insurers have a formal policy in place.

While climate change is already altering the industry’s global business horizons and could disrupt the risk models upon which it depends, it also poses great threats to the long term availability and affordability of insurance. The report contains a set of recommendations on how insurers can address issues of disclosure and create shared resources on how to analyze and respond to climate trends.

Editorial of the Week

Pipeline Needs a Hard Look

(Register-Guard)

There are disturbing signs that the Obama administration already has decided to approve a proposed 1,711-mile pipeline that would carry heavy oil from tar sands in Canada across the Great Plains to terminals in Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast…If that happens, it would be a setback for environmentalists who worked hard to help Obama win the presidency, and three years later have become frustrated with the administration’s lackluster protection of communities, rivers, lakes, oceans, wild lands, air and climate.

Obama has a chance to re-establish his environmental credentials by not rubber-stamping the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry more than 29 million gallons daily of crude oil from Canadian tar sands to refineries in Oklahoma and south Texas. There are many reasons for caution — and perhaps, ultimately, for rejection of this massive project. (More…)

Obama Admin Abandons Smog Rules

via Metro Transportation Library and Archive/Flickr

President Obama has abandoned a proposed set of stricter air-quality rules from the EPA that would have significantly reduced emissions of smog-causing chemicals. The announcement greatly angered environmentalists, who called the move ‘a betrayal.’ While Obama claimed unwavering dedication to the EPA and the Clean Air Act, it was disappointing blow that panders to Big Oil at the expense of American health, as ozone, when combined with other compounds to form smog contributes to many diseases such as heart problems, asthma and lung disorders.
More on this story: NY Times, USA Today

The People Doth Protest the Pipeline

Credit Ben Powless, via Tarsands Action/Flickr

This weekend the largest environmental civil disobedience in decades concluded at the White House with hundreds pledging to escalate the nationwide campaign against the new tar sands Keystone XL pipeline. After the president’s decision on ozone standards, the pipeline became the next crucial environmental decision facing Obama before the 2012 election.

Over the two-week sit-in at the White House gates 1,252 Americans were arrested including top climate scientists, Texas and Nebraska landowners whose property would be impacted by the pipeline, actresses Daryl Hannah and Margot Kidder, former White House official and author Gus Speth, author Naomi Klein, and 350.org’s Bill McKibben, one of the protest’s instigators.